


Middle Schoolers And Buses Don't Mix Well

by tapdancinglorax



Series: Phan as band directors [2]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: I know from EXPERIENCE, M/M, Middle schoolers, Phan - Freeform, Phan AU, Phan Band Director AU, idk - Freeform, on a bus, someone help me tag, thats not fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-07 03:40:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14072109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tapdancinglorax/pseuds/tapdancinglorax
Summary: Dan wishes he didn't get stuck with the seventh graders. Every. Single. Time.





	Middle Schoolers And Buses Don't Mix Well

Band trips were always interesting. It was in those moments Dan really envied Melody. She had to wrestle 20 kids onto the bus, unlike he and Phil, who had to take two buses because band’s popularity had surged so much that they had nearly 90 kids to deal with.

Not to mention, Dan didn't have his bus license. Of course Phil, who could barely drive a regular car would get his license on go 1, but after 16 tries, Dan still didn't have his.

The janitor was typically the one to drive Dan’s bus. Dan, in turn, got the much louder and less mature seventh graders to deal with because he could actually break up fights and do more than yell shut up at them. Phil had to drive and wrangle the eighth graders, but most of them just slept to deal with the nerves, instead of screaming squirrel or once, as Dan remembered, OCTOPUS, like his kiddos did. (He still didn't know why they yelled things like octopus. They lived nowhere near any octopi.)

Today was pretty crazy. It was the big UIL trip, meaning all of the kids, not just the newbies, were jumping off the walls with nerves. One of the trumpets was vaulting over chairs when they walked in, one of the French Horns was spinning around, both Alto Saxs were attempting to play over the chaos, someone was just screaming, and a tuba was banging on the bass drum.

Phil showed their takeout bag onto Dan’s arms and began to march over to the podium. Kids scrambled to their seats, and by the time Phil had stepped onto the podium and picked up the drum stick currently posing as his baton, they had all taken up ready position.

“Warm up! One, two, three, four. One, two, ready, go,” Phil said. Music filled the room, and Dan felt a surge of pride in Phil. He'd been with these kids since they started in sixth grade, and now they played nearly as good as the high school band. He knew Phil loved these kids more than anything and would do whatever it took to keep them in band. And, honestly, Dan would too. He was looking forward to the high school band doubling in size.

They ran through the first few measures of each song, the trumpets sitting out so they wouldn't wear out their mouths, before loading the buses. It took a minute to shove all the big instruments under the bus, but they eventually fit all of them. (Except Andrew’s tuba. It was too big, so they stuck it in a seat in the back of the bus.) Phil pulled Dan out of their student’s line of sight and pecked his cheek.

“Don’t let them break anything this time,” Phil said. Dan blushed. Last time they had gone, he had not only left two girls, but a boy had smuggled a pigeon onto the bus, which had freaked out upon release and broken the windshield. Dan had had to pay for the repairs, which had put them back a month or two on getting a new PC, and the boy (Michael) had gotten kicked out of band. Dan now checked the kiddos bags whenever they were getting on the bus, just in case they had snatched a squirrel or something.

Most of the ride was uneventful. Someone started a game of Truth or Dare with the entire bus with an app on their phone, and Dan had four people sit next to him and talk about an odd topic (Jumanji, the Emoji Movie, weird history facts, and ostriches), two quiz him endlessly about him and Phil, and one pet his hair for about five minutes.

But, for the most part, the ride was just a chance for Dan to scroll through Tumblr and shout occasional “Keep it downs” at them.

That was just the way he liked it.

***

They arrived at the venue, a college two hours away. The eighth graders sleepily unloaded their instruments while the seventh graders yelled and rang around, commenting on everything from the trees to the building to the cars to the people. Dan slumped down, stopping his futile attempts to get them to calm down and listen to him. Phil walked over and squeezed his hand before dropping it again and yelling at the kids to shut up and listen. He explained what was about to happen as Dan slumped over to chat with Jack, a cheerful eighth grade flute. This is why Phil was the middle school band director. He could deal with over excited kids on their first band trip.

Dan could not.

The concert and sightreading went off nearly without a hitch. (Someone left their triangle in the concert room and they had to fish one out of the college’s storage for sightreading.)

They did walk off with a trophy for getting Division 1 in both events, though.

They weren't the only band with one, not by a long shot, but it was so great to see the kiddos smiling from ear to ear, so proud of themselves. This is what made it worth it. Seeing these kids happy.

The meal after, however, did not.

90 kids at Gatti’s with unlimited soda and buffet, along with the candy they could easily get with a few tickets from the outdated games was a mess. It wasn't even the younger ones anymore, it was all of them. Some of them sat there, but inside the arcade, it was pandemonium. Kids screaming, running around, and spinning around, jazzed up on candy.

Dan prayed for his soul.

“Well, hello there, handsome,” Phil said, wrapping his arm around Dan’s waist, “Care to ride the bumper cars with me? I promised Katelyn and Haiden I would. I'm sure they've got a decent group of nerds we can go destroy.”

Dan laughed, burying his head into Phil’s neck.

“Sure, you spoon.”

***

It was nearly ten when they got back. Dan had strolled up and down the bus, taking pictures of anyone who had dared to fall asleep. He'd save them for the kid’s senior band banquet. He always did.

Kids sleepily piled off the bus, most of them having suffered a severe sugar crash on the drive back. They murmured goodbyes to him and Phil. They made sure everyone was gone and that nothing was left on the buses or outside before Phil climbed back into the bus to drive it back to the bus barn. Dan followed him in their car. After the bus was parked, Dan drove them back to their little apartment across town. Phil watered the plants and Dan played the piano for a bit. Phil hummed along, occasionally spinning over to Dan to plant a kiss on his cheek.

***

“We should stop taking them to Gatti’s,” Phil said drowsily after they had crawled into bed, curled up against Dan.

“Nah,” Dan said, craning his neck to kiss Phil, “They always do so good. They deserve it.”

“You’re right,” Phil said, “Also, you look way hot wrecking me in the bumper cars.”

Dan laughed. “Night, Phil. Love you.”

“Love you too, Dan.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is based mostly off of real events. Band's a wild place, my friends. I'm really enjoying this, strangely. If you have any situations you wish to see our two band directors in, just leave a comment. I'll happily write them. I'm probably gonna do one with the high school band next.
> 
> Smiles, Kitty.


End file.
